Apparatus and method for processing authentication information

Abstract

Provided is an information processing apparatus including a physical unclonable function (PUF) to generate a unique key using a process variation in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and an encryption unit to encrypt a password and/or bio-information received from a user using the unique key.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An information processing apparatus comprising:
 a physical unclonable function (PUF) to generate a first unique key as an unpredictable digital value based on electrical characteristics between nodes generated on a semiconductor element by a process variation in a semiconductor manufacturing process; 
 a memory to store a second unique key; and 
 an encryption processor to encrypt received data using one of the first unique key and the second unique key and store the data encrypted. 
 
     
     
       2. The information processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the PUF generates the first unique key using whether a short or open occurs between nodes generated on a semiconductor element by a process variation in a semiconductor manufacturing process. 
     
     
       3. The information processing apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the PUF generates the first unique key using whether an interlayer contact formed between conductive layers of a semiconductor short-circuits the conductive layers. 
     
     
       4. The information processing apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the interlayer contact formed between the conductive layers of the semiconductor is formed to have a smaller size than that according to the design rule provided in the semiconductor manufacturing process. 
     
     
       5. The information processing apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the PUF is configured to set the size of the interlayer contact formed between the conductive layers of the semiconductor such that a difference between a probability of the interlayer contact short-circuiting the conductive layers and a probability of the interlayer contact not short-circuiting the conductive layers is within a preset error range. 
     
     
       6. The information processing apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the PUF comprises N unit structures to generate a 1-bit digital value using a pair of conductive layers and one interlayer contact connecting the conductive layers and generates N-bit first unique keys through the N unit structures, N being a natural number. 
     
     
       7. The information processing apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the PUF generates N-bit digital values, and the information processing apparatus groups digital values comprised in the N-bit first unique keys by k units, compares a first group with a second group among a plurality of groups, and determines a digital value representing the first group and the second group as 1 when a value of k digital bits comprised in the first group is greater than a value of k digital bits comprised in the second group, k being a natural number. 
     
     
       8. The information processing apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the information processing apparatus selectively determines the digital value representing the first group and the second group as either one of 1 and 0 or does not determine the digital value representing the first group and the second group based on a setting when the value of the k digital bits comprised in the first group is the same as the value of the k digital bits comprised in the second group. 
     
     
       9. The information processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the encryption processor encrypts the password N times using the first unique key as a round key to generate an identification key, N being a natural number. 
     
     
       10. The information processing apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the encryption processor encrypts the password in accordance with an advanced encryption standard (AES) or a triple data encryption standard (T-DES) to generate the identification key. 
     
     
       11. The information processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprising bio-information. 
     
     
       12. The information processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprising at least one of user-password and PIN (Personal Identification Number) for authentication. 
     
     
       13. An information processing method comprising:
 generating, by a physical unclonable function (PUF) of an information processing apparatus, a first unique key as an unpredictable digital value; and 
 encrypting, by an encryption processor of the apparatus, received data using one of the first unique key and a second unique key stored in a memory. 
 
     
     
       14. The information processing method of  claim 13 , wherein generating of the first unique key generates the first unique key using whether a short or open occurs between nodes generated on a semiconductor element by a process variation in a semiconductor manufacturing process. 
     
     
       15. The information processing method of  claim 13 , wherein the data comprising at least one of a user-password, PIN (Personal Identification Number), and bio-information input to the apparatus.